American Made [2017] ★★★

Tom Cruise is on top of his game in this fact-based movie about Barry Seal, a TWA pilot who ended up working for both the CIA and the drug cartel (run by The Pablo Escobar), in the late 70’s and early 80’s. You just can’t make this up, and you just can’t ask for a better actor in the role of Seal. The reason this movie works so well is that we believe Cruise’s character from the inside out: a family man with bigger ambitions than his TWA job. We follow him on a wild roller-coaster ride and insane experience in this very entertaining film. Director Doug Liman, who directed Cruise in the terrific “Edge of Tomorrow“, does a first-class job bringing this true story to life. The scenes in Colombia when Seal first meets Escobar and his crew are very detailed and believable. To say that our “hero” is in over his head from that moment on is truly an understatement. But make no mistake: “American Made” is unpredictable and constantly entertaining from the word go. I didn’t think I would say this so soon after the hugely disappointing “The Mummy“, but this film is a guaranteed hit for Tom Cruise.